Self-repairing cities: Leeds’ quest for an autonomous-robot maintenance army

Abstract

Sparked by a £4.2m research grant awarded to the University of Leeds and partner universities, the City of Leeds is investigating how robots could independently maintain infrastructure such as roads, sewers and street lighting. An array of eager industrial partners is involved, and intensive research across multiple academic disciplines is underway. A small army of prototypes has already been built, and Leeds aims to be “the first city in the World that is fully maintained autonomously by 2035”. CRI investigates.